Method of and apparatus for the transmission of fluids through pipes



0F FLUIDs May 29. 1928.

H. c. HAYES TUS FOR THE TRANSMISSION METHOD 0F AND APPARA THROUGH PIPES OR CONDUITS Filed Sept. 5, 1921 FIG. E: 20

Harz/eey C Ha @B3 /d// Patented May 29, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY CORNELIUS HAYES, OF ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF FLUIDS THROUGH PIPES OR CONDUITS.

Application led September 3, 1921. Serial No. 498,517.

The present invention relates to the transmission of fluids through pipe lines or conduits supplied by reciprocating pumps or the exhaust from reciprocating engines and similiar purposes.

Under the most favorable conditions of periodic flow the maximum strains to which the pipes and machinery are subjected are much greater than would be necessary if the same rate of delivery were obtained under steady flow; but if at any time the relation between vthe length of .pipe line, elasticity and density of the fluid, and frequencyA of the flow impulses becomes such that the fluid column is in resonance, then excessive pressures may build up in the pipe line and back up against the source of supply. These abnormal pressures and their resulting strains not only shorten the life of the installation but they result in materially decreasing its efficiency. This decrease of eiiiciency, due to excessive back pressure in the exhaust line, is particularly noticeable in the case of internal combustion 2 engines where the effect of such back pressure is not only to reduce the mean effect-ive pressure on the pistons but to further reduce the eiiciency by preventing a complete exhaust of the burnt gases from the cylinders, thereby reducing and adulterating the intake charges.

The excessive strains and back pressures are not the only disadvantages resulting from the transmission of fiuids under periodic flow. Wherever rate flow meters are to be used, as in feed-water and steam supply lines, it is very desirable that the flow be uniform and not periodicotherwise the recording device will not function properly.

40 Numerous chemical vprocesses require a uniform rate of delivery. When the fluid delivery is directly into the atmosphere, the noise produced by the periodic fiow is oftimes objectionable. The best example of this is afforded by the exhaust from internal combustion engines where the sound generated by the periodic flow is so great vand disturbing that such engines are required by law to be equipped with muiiiers.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the excessive strains and back pressures resulting from the periodic flow of fluids transmitted through pipes thereby increasing both the life and eiciency of the installation.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate, or greatly reduce, the sound caused by such iiow at points where lthe delivery or exhaust leaves the transmitting system.

These objects are accomplished by connecting in series with the transmitting line, preferably as near the source of pressure as possible, one or more valves of a new type which is herein described in the matter of principle, construction and operation.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the recognition of a principle and the construction, combination and arrangement of parts to render available such principle to the accomplishment in practice of said objects as will be hereinafter described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciication in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the] several views, and in which Figure l is a cross sectional view of one form of valve suitable for the purposes heretofore mentioned,

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure l,

Fig. 3 is a modified form of valve to be used in connection with the flow of a highly incompressible iiuid, and

Fig. 4 shows how two or more valves may be connected in series to increase the eii'ectiveness of the valve action.

The principle of the valve may be illustrated by one having a cylindrical receiving chamber closed at both ends and having perforations through the cylindrical surface. The fluid enters the chamber through an opening in the center of one end of the chamber and is then deflected by vanes, or nozzles, so that the iow within the chamber is in the nature of a whirling or vortica] motion about the axis of the cylinder. The fluid leaves the chamber through the perfo- 100 rations in the cylinder wall where it can be collected and transmitted further through pipe lines, or dissipated in the atmosphere.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 indicates the cylindrical wall of the 105 valve, which is provided with a plurality of perforations 6, and having plates 7 and 8 covering the ends, the plate 8 beingl provided With an opening 9 throii h `which the Huid enters the chamber 1Q, n member 11. 11o

preferably conical in shape securedto the plate '7 opposite the opening and extends into the chamber While mounted betweenrthe plates 7 and 8 are ,a number lofvanes or noz- Zles l2 so constructed andarranged to form tangential .passages 1.3 therebetween .f1-heee passages `forni a plurality of spiralsaboutA the central member ll. The member l1 is positioned in the direct path ofv the entering fluid forsthe purpose of reducing the crosssection vinsuch a Way as to keep the pressure of 'the entering iiuid constant throughout the length of the passages between the vaner's.

If' the` yalve is 4to be used ineonnecti'on with the transmission of highly compres'sible fluids', ysuch as 'gases or yapors, the passages between the Vanes 'are preferably Vflaredoutv`wardin to the chamber l0 similar'to turbine Viiortica'lmotion of the Huid produce apressure gradient :directed loutward'along a radius of the cylinder chamber.-A This'results ingivingth fluid a greater tendency to travel"outwardsthan it has to traye'l'inwards and causes'V the vdevice-to act asa checlrivalie so longas th'e'v fluidin thechamber iswliirling. The lengthI oftimethrou'gh -which this checking action holds. depends' uponi the Velocity'of 'the whirling'motio'n, the density, and the viscosity of theV fluid.v It also `de- `pendsto 'considerable extent upon th'edimensions and character of the Walls of the r'eceiifing orrortexi chamber.'

.Experiments carried out in connection with impulsive gas" flow hare shown that the yalre` action is effective for impulses 'sepa ratedb'y as'mucli as one second' andpossibl'y longer, and theeziperiments have shown that the effectiveness of the checking' actionVJ increases asthefrequency of the'impulses in crease. i The experiments also verified that the flow 'of gas 'beyond 'the valveV was nearly `uniform rand the Vaverage pressure at the nozle 'openings v'into the' chmiber` was yless than'the ayerage pressure in :the line beyond' the'cliamber. IThese facts are readily explained as follows: Each'liow impulse which enters the chamber is' given zin/rapid whirling motion and the resulting centrifugal"'forces' carry j the gas to the ut'side'of the 'chamberther'eby .leaving a'partial" Vacuum at the nozz'le' outlets so that each entering impulse 'discharges against'l'e'ssl baclr pressure than it otherwise tv ov'uld.'l Meantimmthe moment' of inertia 'of thega's of leach'whirling How" impulse which hase-entered the 'chamber .keepsthis gas pressed against the cylindrical Wall while* it gradually passes .through .the perforations at 'i-substantially Lfuiiiforr'n rate. lfthe crosssection 4of the perforations and the volume of the `chamber areproperly proportioned, the flow *ofgas' from'k the chamber can be made ,practically andere @ad te@ @est Presenze@ ,the source of supply at the same time reduced.

A suitabledesign of the member l1 is that of a. paraboloid of revolution, the base 2O 'of Which'isof.thesame si'ze as the inlet opening the same' as` that ofthe chamber l0. -The Vanes I2 areso" arranged about the member ll that should a section be taken 4across the meinberl'land the Yanes l2, for lexainpleon ytheplane 'AI-'A ofFigure 2, the areaof the section'of the member `-llwill be equaljtok the sum of the areas of the openings between the yvane's as contained4 between the top plate l8 of the chamber 10 and the sectional plane A's-A. Or,eXpressed in differentfternis, the

areah of the "annular space B. betweenthe member 11 andthe vanes will be equal tothe suin of the areas of the openings between the ranes as ccnta'med betweenl the sectional plane A-A and the base 2010i the Ymember 1'1.

s It will be seen from .this description that the cross sectional area of the openings .through which the'impfulse yWave isrto pass remains constantuntil thefdirection ofthe impulse haslbeen changed from a line parallel to the taxis ofthe member 1l 'toa direc- .tiontha't :is substantially perpendicular to that axis.. The energy of the impulse is then spent 1n `the chamber 'l0 vin ltheV manner 4shown diagrammatically in Figure Qand an eren flow of duid-issues from 'ti-heports 6 in the cylindrical wall ofthe chamber'lO. In

such a design the fluid will pass ythrough all sections ofthe passages at the same lspeed and thereiorehave' the' same rate of spin at all Vsectio'nsof the. chamber perpendicular to its axis,.and also the reflection ofthe impulses -9 'of thelchainbei1 l0", and the height thereof is anouter fwall 14, forming aguide-way 15 s between 'the perforated Wall 5 through which the Vfluid'is co'nducted'to a second valveconstructed similar' tothat shown in EigQ.

effectiveness of the valve when 'used'in connection with impulse gas new is due' to theV`V fact that,the'vortcal'motion makes it pos- VSince this' gas is yhighly compressible,"the` y l 12o Fromthe foregoing it is obuious that-the i whirling mass within the chamber is com-V pressed and made more dense as it passes toward the outer wall. In this way it is temporarily stored around the outer portions of the'chamber until it filters through the perforations,

In case of liquid, however, its incompressibility prevents storing an excess in this way and an air chamber must be provided for temporarily storing the excess so that a more or less steady flow will be maintained beyond the valve. Such an arrangement is shown in the modified form of Fig. 3.

In this figure a valve particularly adapted for use in connection with incompressible fluids is shown. This valve has in addition to the construction already described and shown in Figure 1 an outer chamber 16 converging to a central opening 17. The upper portion of the chamberl is enlarged to form a storage chamber 18 for the temporaryv storage of the excess fluid.

As previously stated the nozzle openings into the :valve chamber are preferably flared similar-ly to the Inozzles of al steamv or air driven turbine'when the valveis designed for use in connection with gas or vapor flow. Such` a nozzle increases the effectiveness `of the valve by transforming part of t-he pressure, or potential energy, of the fluid into velocity, or kinetic energy. The increasedvelocity .produced by the flaring nozzle increases the centrifugal forces lbrought into lplay andvmakes the pressure gradient along a radius of the chamber greater. kThis results in increasing the check-valve action of the device and creates a greater partial vacuum at the nozzle entrances, thereby reducing the back pressure against the source of supply.

Itwill be understood that the above description and accompanying drawings comprehend only the general and preferred' embodiment of my invention and that various changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

. gradient towards the 'of flow to a fluid having Having vfully described my invention what I claim as new is:

1. A means for imparting a uniform rate of flow to a fluid having periodic velocity including a chamber having a centrally located entrance for the admission of fluid, means within the entrance for uniformly distributing the entering fluid, vanes placed along the locus of a spiral the center of which is upon the axis of the means within the entrance and surrounding said means for imparting a vortical motion to the distributed fluid, the said means extending from the top to the bottom of the chamber, and means permitting retarded escape of the fluid from the chamber.

'2. A means for imparting a uniform rate of flow to a fluid having periodic velocity including a chamber having a centrally located entrance, means within the entrance for uniformly distributing the entering fluid, vanes placed along the locus of a spiral the center of which is upon the axis of the means within the entrance and surrounding the said means to impart a whorling motion to the entering fluid to produce a pressure ripheral Wall of the chamber, and a plura ity of means permitting retarded escape of the fluid from the chamber.

3. A means for imparting a uniform rate periodic velocity including a chamber having a vcentrally locatedentrance for the admission of fluid, a conical member extending from the top of the chamber to the mouth of the entrance for uniformly distributing the entering fluid, vanes having diverging passageways therebetween located along the locus of a spiral the center of which is upon the axis of the conical. member and surrounding the conical member, the area of any cross section of the conical member perpendicular to its axis beingequal to the sectional area of the several passages included between this plane and the end of the chamber into which the fluid enters, and means permitting retarded escape of the fluid from the chamber.

HARVEY 'CORNELIUS HAYES. 

